Integrating Technology Skills into the Curriculum

Librarians like myself spend considerable effort working with faculty to build information literacy skills into the curriculum. While many assume that finding information is becoming easier all the time (and in some cases, it is), critical evaluation of information resources is now an essential skill for coursework, the workplace, and life in general. Whether finding scholarly resources for a paper or looking for reliable information for a personal need (health or finance, for example), evaluating information is an everyday occurrence.

In my mind, the same goes for technology skills. With Gen Y, we assume that because these students grew up with the internet and are great at texting on mobile phones, they must have all of the technology skills they need. From what I observe in our information commons, this is not the case. We frequently see students who need basic assistance with the Office suite, particularly Excel and PowerPoint. What troubles me more though are the quality of their PowerPoint presentations (too many bullet points, too many cutesy clip art images, too much animation). Where will they learn to create a visually appealing, interesting, and informative presentation? If you had to consider important workplace skills, this would be near the top of the list. Likewise so would be formatting a spreadsheet to prove your case, conveying information on a memo so that it is easily read and persuasive, and so forth.

In addition to spreadsheets and presentations and those things that have long been everyday to you and me, how are we preparing students to use web 2.0 tools? I am particularly thinking of using them for self-promotion to land a job. With today's challenging economy, students should explore every possible avenue toward getting a job. From LinkedIn profiles to the advantages of blogging or at least developing a personal, professional web presence, I worry that today's students are not getting any of this in our curriculum. You and I may twitter; our students may, too, but do they consider how it might help them professionally?

Chief Academic Officers, you need to consider how building technology skills fits into the general education curriculum.

Reforming Higher Education

Interesting that two newspapers (Lexington Herald-Leader and New York Times) today published articles on reforming higher education. Not revolutionary in today’s economic environment but still causes one to pause. One article focused on too many universities wanting to become research centers, and the second compared higher education to Detroit. Both articles came to the same conclusion; universities are spending too much money on areas not relevant to today’s needs.

Also it's important to note that Obama has continued to focus on using higher education to improve our chance to compete in the world economy and to encourage innovation across the sciences. The challenge to the Chief Academic Officer is to determine if it is time to reevaluate the mission and goals of the university or to just ignore the negative comments as idle chatter of the ignorant. The cost of a university degree and the dismal outlook for jobs will pressure students (and their parents) to decide if the financial commitment is worth four years of intense study. Interesting the first move by Obama was to recommend the government provide financial aid rather than continuing to subsidize the financial businesses. The action should encourage the CAO to evaluate university business practices to determine if there are other areas the Obama administration will encourage reform. It appears it is time to be bold if one is to be recognized as a leader. Simple, just follow the President’s example.

Uncommon Learning Spaces: What is the Commons?

In the last month, both major publications of EDUCAUSE have focused on learning spaces: EDUCAUSE Review and EDUCAUSE Quarterly. As we seek more ways to collaborate in these difficult budgetary times, it makes sense for campus units to work more closely together to provide student and faculty support services in shared spaces. When redesigning or building new learning spaces, it makes sense to create comfortable, inviting spaces that allow for maximum flexibility. These dynamic spaces, built largely on partnerships, are often known in libraries as information/learning commons. This is the first in a series of posts I will write about the transition to the commons environment.

While there are numerous textbook definitions of the commons, as well as hairsplitting debates on whether a commons is an information commons or a learning commons, I see three basic elements of the commons:

A collaborative space. The commons is a warm, welcoming space, which facilitates student work and encourages collaboration. Sometimes this is called a third place, basically an ideal gathering place for students that is not in the classroom and not at home. Typically these spaces include comfortable furniture that is easily rearranged for group work.

Well equipped with technology and related services. Computers in soldierly rows with students stacked elbow-to-elbow just don't cut it anymore. Reconfigured lab spaces which include different types of furniture that can easily be rearranged are quickly becoming the norm, especially as students increasingly bring laptops to the space and the future of the computer lab itself is questioned. While the technology is important--particularly the specialized software and hardware that most students would not have otherwise--the key to a successful commons space is knowledgeable, friendly experts that can provide library and IT assistance. Technology in the commons is more than just a glorified computer lab.

A place to have a little fun. While these spaces are usually in libraries, the environment is generally relaxed to encourage students to spend time in the space. The food policy is often more liberal than other areas of the library, as well as the policy on noise. Student influence is often visible in the space with artwork, signs, or other elements of creative activity. Basically it's not your typical library environment.

Next post in the series: I'll discuss the changing support model for libraries and IT.